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At the age of 53, Debbie Hughes imagined the only babies she would be looking after would be her granddaughters. Instead, despite taking the contraceptive Pill, she has become one of Britain's oldest ever naturally conceiving mothers – giving birth to a healthy baby boy named Kyle. As fertility experts described her achievement as 'remarkable', Hughes is relearning the ropes of motherhood.

Men, and not just women, need to be aware of the "reproductive consequences" of postponing parenthood, new national guidelines on the risks of delayed child-bearing warn. Though women especially should recognize that their "fecundity and fertility" starts to decline precipitously after 32, a man's semen quality and fertility also worsens with age, according to guidelines endorsed by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. The new guideline to doctors comes amid growing concerns about the number of women delaying childbearing.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, couples considering having a child should begin steps toward preconception health at least three months before getting started. Danny Schust, director of the department of reproductive endocrinology and fertility at University of Missouri Health Care, said a woman’s age is one of the first things to consider.

Infertility means not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying. Or, six months, if a woman is over 35. With one in eight couples experiencing it, there are also a lot of myths out there surrounding infertility.

The advances in reproductive medicine have been many. As the New Year begins, here are FertilityAuthority's four trends you should watch.

Genetic screening of embryos for aneuploidy. A normal embryo has 23 pairs of chromosomes, including an XX or an XY to determine sex. Aneuploidy is the term used to describe an abnormal number of chromosomes, and majority of embryos with aneuploidy will not implant in the uterus or will result in a miscarriage. Many fertility clinics are now offering preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) for aneuploidy. One method that is gaining much attention is called comprehensive chromosomal analysis (CCS) tests a Day 5 or 6 embryo that is subsequently frozen and transferred during a frozen cycle. Women who have experienced recurrent miscarriages or recurrent IVF failure, or those who are of advanced maternal age, may want to ask their fertility doctors about PGS or CCS for aneuploidy screening.

Fertility rates have dropped in many parts of the world in recent decades, but something particularly remarkable happened to the once-prolific family across Latin America. From sprawling Mexico to tiny Ecuador to economically buoyant Chile, fertility rates plummeted, even though abortion is illegal, the Catholic Church opposes birth control and government-run family planning is rare.

A Pennsylvania entrepreneur says he's created a device that could help couples trying to have a baby. It's called The Stork. CEO Stephen Bollinger says the technique—called intracervical insemination—places a high concentration of semen outside the opening of the uterus. The Pittsburgh company, which recently raised $4 million from investors, must now convince the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the product for sale.

A woman's lung cancer risk doesn't appear to be linked to the number of children she has, although some scientists had thought hormonal changes during pregnancy might protect against the disease. That's according to a new report that sums up 16 previous studies on the topic, which researchers have explored to get a better understanding of lung cancer and possible treatments.

A study presented earlier this year by Canadian researchers has created a bit of a buzz in the fertility world when the reported that a supplement found in most health food stores — Coenzyme Q10 — might have the power to slow the aging of eggs in mice. Now, another preliminary fertility study by Dr. Robert Casper and colleagues at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute and Mount Sinai Hospital has shown good results in reducing the aging of eggs in mice. They found that when CoQ 10 was given to 52-week-old mice — about mid-age for a mouse — their eggs appeared to rejuvenate.

With the start of a new year there are always well-intended resolutions to follow. Some of those resolutions may be aimed at increasing your fertility. Here are some little-known fertility boosting tips you may not be aware of, as well as others you may want to work on. Kevin Lederer, M.D., a fertility doctor with Fertility Centers of Illinois, has detailed 12 New Year’s resolutions for couples to add to their 2012 checklist.

“There are many health and well-being basics which couples are aware of, but other small changes can help increase fertility," he explains. "Couples can start these tips in the New Year to become happier, healthier and more fertile.